436 bodies have been excavated from mass burials outside Izium, which Ukraine recaptured from Russia, and many traces of torture have been identified.
Kharkiv Governor Oleg Sinegubou said that the excavation work that began on the 16th had been completed and that "most of the bodies showed signs of violent death, and 30 of them also showed signs of torture."
"There were bodies with ropes around their necks and hands tied, in some cases broken limbs and gunshot wounds," he said.
In particular, some men said they had been identified as being castrated, accusing them of "all of this as evidence of the terrible torture inflicted on the inhabitants of Igeum by the invaders."
Most of the bodies buried are believed to be civilians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, "Russia has repeated what it has done in the secondary school in Izium, and the world must respond to this."
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights is pursuing a plan to send an on-site investigation team to Igeum.
In March last year, hundreds of civilian bodies were found, including a mass burial site where 50 bodies were buried.
Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov said, "It's a secondary scenario. It's a lie. We will keep the truth in this case."
(Photo = Getty Images Korea)